Chennai, October 30 (IANS). Health workers and social workers in Tamil Nadu have demanded the Health Department to take action and recover the bond amount from postgraduate doctors who are allegedly missing from 21 public health institutions in the state.
Activist C. Anandaraj told the media that it is mandatory for postgraduate doctors joining state health services to sign a bond of Rs 40 lakh with the health department. Doctors who violate this bond must be held accountable by the government.
Anandraj also demanded formation of a committee led by an IAS officer to identify these missing doctors, initiate legal action against them and recover the bond amount.
These doctors had signed a security bond with the state. This bond includes all necessary commitments regarding the job, which he has allegedly breached.
According to available information, hundreds of doctors from government institutions in Tamil Nadu are continuously absent from their duty.
State health department sources told IANS that the missing doctors were from 21 public health institutions under the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME&R).
“These doctors joined government medical colleges taking advantage of the 50 per cent reservation in postgraduate seats under the state quota,” said C. Rajeev, director of the Center for Policy and Development Studies (CPDS), a Chennai-based think tank. Three with adequate salaries After taking a year’s leave, he took up a job in a private hospital for a higher salary and should be held accountable for this violation.
Rajeev stressed the need for strict action against doctors who fail to meet their bond commitments. Activists have urged the state government to take swift action to punish these doctors who violate the bond conditions.
A senior official of the Tamil Nadu State Health Department told IANS that a departmental inquiry is underway into the matter. However, activists expressed concern saying that the health department is not taking any action to recall these doctors or take back the bond amount.
–IANS
MKS/AKJ
